Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang resigns as CFO Colette Kress takes over as interim chief

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang has resigned with immediate effect following revelations about extramarital relationships, including an affair with a company vice-president and another with a woman suspected by US intelligence of spying for China. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress has stepped in as interim chief executive while the silicon giant searches for a permanent successor.

The board met on Wednesday evening to finalize the leadership transition, appointing tech entrepreneur and investor Harvey Jones as chairman. The board had launched an independent investigation led by law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz after reports detailed Huang's relationship with Alice Huang, chief executive of Singapore-based data centre company Megaspeed. Megaspeed has purchased more than $4.8 billion in Nvidia processors since June 2024.

Matters escalated on Wednesday when further reports revealed a separate personal relationship between Huang and Kimberly Powell, Nvidia's vice-president of healthcare, who reported directly to him. Under Nvidia's internal code of conduct, employees are instructed to avoid conflicts of interest, including romantic relationships with direct subordinates.

Huang, 63, had admitted unfaithfulness to his wife of 41 years in a message to staff earlier in the week, though he denied knowing that Alice Huang was allegedly gathering intelligence for Beijing. In a statement released by the board, directors paid tribute to Huang's profound contributions to the company he co-founded in 1993, but made no direct mention of the personal conduct inquiries.

Kress, an executive vice-president who joined Nvidia 13 years ago following leadership roles at Microsoft and Cisco, will guide the company through its upcoming quarterly earnings report. The board confirmed it will evaluate both internal and external candidates to identify a permanent chief executive.

Key candidates in the frame to lead Nvidia

Market fallout and governance challenges

Huang's exit opens an uncertain period for Nvidia, which controls an estimated 90 per cent of the global market for artificial intelligence training chips. With a market valuation exceeding $4 trillion prior to the revelations, Nvidia's stock has dropped more than 30 per cent from its peak in October, stripping out over $1.5 trillion in market capitalization.

Huang, who remains the company's largest individual shareholder with a 3.56 per cent stake worth roughly $145 billion, held direct oversight across major customer relationships, hardware development, and strategic venture investments. The board stated that product roadmaps and customer commitments will continue without interruption during the transition.